The Emotionally Intelligent Leader

Are You Skimming This Sidebar?
Do you have trouble remembering what 
someone has just told you in conversation? Did 
you drive to work this morning on autopilot?
Do you focus more on your smartphone than 
on the person you’re having lunch with? 
Attention is a mental muscle; like any other 
muscle, it can be strengthened through the 
right kind of exercise. The fundamental rep 
for building deliberate attention is simple: 
When your mind wanders, notice that it has 
wandered, bring it back to your desired point 
of focus, and keep it there as long as you can. 
That basic exercise is at the root of virtually 
every kind of meditation. Meditation builds 

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The Focused Leader
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concentration and calmness and facilitates 
recovery from the agitation of stress.
So does a video game called Tenacity, 
developed by a design group and 
neuroscientists at the University of 
Wisconsin. The game offers a leisurely 
journey through any of half a dozen scenes, 
from a barren desert to a fantasy staircase 
spiraling heavenward. At the beginner’s 
level you tap an iPad screen with one finger 
every time you exhale; the challenge is to 
tap two fingers with every fifth breath. As 
you move to higher levels, you’re presented 
with more distractions—a helicopter flies 
into view, a plane does a flip, a flock of birds 
suddenly scuds by. 

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Daniel Goleman
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When players are attuned to the rhythm 
of their breathing, they experience the 
strengthening of selective attention as a feel-
ing of calm focus, as in meditation. Stanford 
University is exploring that connection at its 
Calming Technology Lab, which is developing 
relaxing devices, such as a belt that detects 
your breathing rate. Should a chock-full 
in-box, for instance, trigger what has been 
called e-mail apnea, an iPhone app can guide 
you through exercises to calm your breathing 
and your mind.

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